Political Story

OUTLINE
I. Intro: WSU PSU protest
a. Lede quote: right thing to do
II. Washington state’s project intro
III. Background
a. Sweatfree definition
b. Sweatshop abuses list
c. Why people want to go sweatfree
IV. What wsu did
a. WRC
b. FLA
c. prices
V. What state is going to do
a. Cost
b. SPC
VI. Problems
VII. Project future and how likely implementation is

ARTICLE

Two years ago, Washington State University students joined the long line of college activists to protest Cougar gear made in sweatshops. Progressive Student Union members prepared to fight, in cardboard boxes emblazoned with their battle cry – “I’d Rather Go Naked than Wear Sweatshop Clothing.”

However, the fight was not to be had. WSU officials were already considering going sweatfree and willingly signed a policy within a week, WSU Trademark Department Program Administrative Manager, Alyce Anderson said.

“I think the PSU expected more of a push back,” Anderson said. “But it’s just the right thing to do.”

Today, the state of Washington is considering a similar measure. The House of Representatives Committee on Commerce and Labor held a work session in March to discuss why the state should put together a sweatfree purchasing policy and how to do that.

Sweatfree means a product is not made under sweatshop conditions. Sweatshop conditions are any internationally recognized unsafe or unfair working conditions, said Kristen Beifus, SweatFree Washington Coordinator, at the March Commerce and Labor work session.

Sweatfree policies combat these issues by protecting workers and fighting a global economy based on exploitation and a race to create the cheapest products, said Rebecca Johnson, Washington State Labor Council Government Affairs Director, at the March meeting.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” Johnson said.

In October of 2007, WSU signed on to the Worker’s Rights Consortium and the Free Labor Association. The WRC is a watchdog organization that monitors suppliers and works with them to fix violations, Anderson said. The FLA is an organization that all suppliers must be members of in order to manufacture products with a Cougar logo, she said.

“These organizations get all people together working for solutions,” she said.

The price of Cougar gear has not increased significantly due to FLA membership, Anderson said, because many suppliers, such as Nike, were already members.

The state policy would be similar. It would join the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium, a group of almost 200 public institutions. The purpose is a collective effort for transparency from suppliers by pooling resources, said Dick Meyer, South Sound Clean Clothes Campaign and Founder, at the March meeting.

States in the U.S. spend $400 million per year on apparel such as uniforms for employees, Beifus said. A procurement policy will include a code of conduct for suppliers including respecting international labor standards and submitting to investigation and necessary corrective action.

The enforcement of this code is up to the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium, which uses members’ $500 initial fee and $5,000 yearly member fee to monitor and improve conditions, said Bjorn Claeson, Executive Director of SweatFree Communities.

However, joining these watchdog organizations does not make sweatfree purchasing “as simple as waving a magic wand,” Anderson said.

“It’s like saying your house will never catch on fire because you have insurance,” she said. The point of the policies is to find the problems and create solutions.

The state’s sweatfree purchasing project is just beginning , Commerce and Labor Committee Chair, Steve Conway said during the work session, but he and several other committee members are very interested in working towards a policy for Washington. The committee’s goal is to produce a policy by Jan. 1.

SOURCES
Alyce Anderson, WSU Trademarks Administrative Program Manager, 509-335-2202
Alison Hellberg, Commerce and Labor Counsel and Sweatfree Purchasing Project Manager, 360-786-7152
Steve Conway, Commerce and Labor Chair, 360-786-7906
http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2009031018&TYPE=V&CFID=697859&CFTOKEN=29830829&bhcp=1 , video of work session from which Beifus, Conway, Johnson, Claeson and Meyer were quoted